GOD IS MOVING AMONG US - John Madden

From John's blogpost which he then posted in Church of Brotherly Love , a group on Facebook particularly for recovering addicts:


The words I write are not words that are made up to encourage thinking. I wish them to be words that pick a person up and hurl that person into the spiritual realm. That person is me and that person is you. I see God as being my friend. I see Him as someone who visits with me. He is in my heart as a son is in the heart of a father and a father is in the heart of his son. God shows up in my life. And it is in the strangest ways. He is not on my time clock either. He shows up when He wants to. Through the laughter and joy of others. Through nature. Through my need. I often wonder "Why are things the way they are?" And then I think "Why wouldn't life be the way that it is?" Within the craziness of this world I do believe in God and I know that He is love. It is a privilege just to wait on Him. To wait upon His presence. I need to learn more of waiting on Him
My life experiences have been both good and bad. I can relate to the illnesses of others ad I can relate to their highest achievements as well. Through the years I have slept on the doorsteps of death and life. God has engulfed me on both ends. And I have thanked Him on both fronts. I have been given the opportunity to call on Him and have I learned the true joy that comes through Him. I long for His sweetness. I wait for the opening of my eyes to the glimpses of His glory. It is the meaningful moments I live for. The moments that God hands His goodness over to me so that I may share it with others.

A radical change has happened in the heart of the man that has accepted God. We have a change in perspective because we have been born again. We are a “new man”. This new man is nothing like the "old man" that we have become so acquainted with. I have grown to understand the fact that many aspects of dysfunction end on God's terms. Dysfunction has lost its power when squared up against His truth. We have been gifted with the knowledge of who we are in God as a member of His family.
I am sharing my discoveries with you in the words I write. They are not merely words. You would share yours with me if given a chance as well. When we share with one another God moves through us. When good energy is passed back and forth it is of God. God is moving among us. We will find ourselves sharing and growing with one another. My suggestion is that you keep your mind wide open for things that sound different and even ridiculous to the natural mind. To love mankind by way of the Jesus Christ and His cross is different because it focuses on the truth of what really changes a person. And we are human BEings . Accepting the death and resurrection of Christ is our baseline. It breaks the power of our own thinking and gives us the love of God.
I believe that we are always on the verge of new and great awakenings. We are awakened by the touch of God. But we fall into deep sleep at times. And we are in need of another touch. Like a gentle mother, He rubs our cheeks awaiting opening eyes and a smile. God is bringing us to the place of eternal expression where the moments of life all blend into forever, where we are surrounded by our family, and where the deepest pain in our hearts is soothed by His unspeakable love.

Drugs or what? (Mental Health Conversation)

(Facebook 5/4/15 - Easter day)
John Madden
10 hrs ·
I have disclosed that I work in the field of mental health and we treat many who have addictions as well. Some people have psychosis that is not at all drug related. Others have drug induced psychosis. Nevertheless I have seen anti psychotic medications work miracles on people. Sometimes quickly . Sometimes slowly. I have seen the result of those who have stopped taking their meds. In the jest of it all some claim to be Christians others not. I seriously question those in the christian community who take a strong stance against the use of psychiatric medication. I have seen first hand the effectiveness of psychiatric medication
Andy McIntosh Point taken, however I have seen just as many countless zombies medicated beyond ability to participate in normal ADL. I take just as strong a stance against anybody who dogmatically prescribes mind and body numbing meds without at least considering how nouthetic counseling principles might help the counseled. As a pastor I work with the medical professions to find balance between the two Tx modalities.
Chris Welch (who is clueless)" I like this video http://080808onnowto.blogspot.co.uk/…/before-you-commit-sui… "
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Samantha Paradinha I agree with both comments, but tend to favor non-medicating. Drugs can be very beneficial for mental health problems. Especially, when a chemical imbalance is the problem, but often vitamins can help as well. A demonized person may benefit from drugs bc it hinders their functioning. I have seen, however, that often people are pushed to take drugs to make others more comfortable. People don't want to look at your grieving or sorrow. It is unsettling. Society, overall, wants people to be productive and work else they see no value in their existence. I can medicate my feelings and be in a zombie state or I can take drugs that push me past the lethargy so I am ('normally') functional until the point of crash and burnout. People need relationships the most. Science has proven how having a pet can alleviate mental and physical problems; how much more a true human friend? Living in the truth is life giving. The Bible says it is good to sit in the dust and consider your ways. I am sure someone would want to give that person some uppers and say get up man! You're embarrassing me!!!
2 hrs · Like

Samantha Paradinha I have done the Wellbutrin in the am and the Zoloft at night bit with the occasional ambien for sleep. Didn't really help. Had to stop the Wellbutrin for my heart (should never have been on it- oops there doc). The ambien helped me sleep when I had so much pain from a broken bone. Took cymbalta six weeks. It helped tremendously at first for sleep and stopping pain, but I almost dropped dead from the salt imbalance it caused. Soooo yeah, kind of not worth it. Colloidal silver, iodine, and a couple multi- vitamins a day plus my macrobid for uti prevent are all I need. Talking, journaling, seeking The Lord; these have helped the most.
1 hr · Like

Samantha Paradinha Also, I must say that coffee in the am and a glass of wine with dinner are very beneficial and less jarring than meds that perform similarly. I couldn't digest my meals after chemo (months later when I was eating more than crackers), but wine w pasta went down well. (Also, the coffee helped my innards function despite all the scarring.) Oh the agonizing from the guilt I had doing that!!! When even scriptures say to have a little wine for your stomach... It is best to simply try to eat well, rest, exercise and be real. I am sure some would have given job some Valium or caffeine (don't know names for any uppers) pills, alternatively depending on which way he was bugging them at the moment. His friends sitting with him in silence for three days was at least something. No one wants to do even that, nowadays. American medicine is Allopathic; meaning proof based and reactionary. Japanese medicine is more preventative. Personally, I like to sit before I fall down. If I feel it coming on... Maybe we should encourage each other to take a break and rest before a breakdown instead of falsely bolstering someone with meds until the point of collapse. Also, seeking the root of a problem and dealing with it is better than glossing it over for decades until the dogs in the basement can be held back no longer and literally all hell breaks loose. Hmm, this the advice of most churches, in my experience. "Get over it."
1 hr · Edited · Like

Samantha Paradinha So, coming round robin, taking meds is often the way to reach "got over it" status the quickest, yet it is not a cure. It is a stop gap measure.
1 hr · Like

Samantha Paradinha Thanks for bringing this up.
1 hr · Like

Samantha Paradinha So, are these the ravings of a lunatic? I am not delusional, the world is just really that f-ed up!

The only justifiable self effort is complete abandonment by John Madden

14 August 2014 at 09:01 Facebook note

I've made so many mistakes in my life that many times I felt that I was sitting in a penalty box. And I'm sitting in this box with a bag of stuff. The problem is I carry my own bag of tools made up of man made psychology, philosophy, theology and only God knows what else. I have false beliefs that I must “do something” or that I need to “let go”of something. It is my own independent instincts to do what is right that is displaced. A Train wreck unable to do anything. I do need to turn it all over to God. I cant turn it over to God even if what I needed to turn over was a beach ball. A train wreck can not turn over a beach ball. I need that miracle that Jerry Garcia sings about..I cant let go of my all for Gods all.



Peace, love, and joy exist within the heart of God. It was at the cross that this maddening mind and stony heart of mine was removed and a heart after God's own heart was placed in . THE BIBLE SAYS IT . It is a reality. I have no grip in my hands to hold it. When I have a belief in the facts of being made new in Christ, and abandon all of my methods, maybe I will begin to experience the fruit of the Spirit in my life.



When we take the mess that we are, when we see our immoral traits, when bring into view the cross of Christ, when we see the meaning of the cross, and bundle all of this together maybe we will see that sought over miracle. This means that we don't produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (personally) by applying principles beyond Christ crucified, resurrected and ascended for us



We do nothing on our own. Christ wants to do everything for us, by and through Him. He knows us. We dont know Him. His hand is on our life. We cant grab a hold of His hand due to our grave frailties Christ has already placed us above all the powers that work against us. We fight the good fight by placing our belief in the shed blood and crucified body of Christ as the ONLY way to find life in Him. It is then that the Holy Spirit takes over our life because of our belief. OUR LIFE MAY REMAIN IN APPARENT DISARRAY But in this the fruit of the Spirit becomes evident in some way.


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Chris Welch  - It's all about the choice of self-existence. And REST is all about sinking back to God's own pure LIFE in us as us....BEING ENOUGH.
Self-existence looked real cool.
But as we "put on that avatar"....we never realised we became the devil's avatar for him in the earth. "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you."
or submit to the simplicity of His Life functioning spontaneously through your heart, firmly yank off the avatar equipment of the supposedly "independent self delusion"....and like Jesus announced finally after 33.5 years in the Upper Room "Hey....the DEVIL HAS NOTHING IN ME."

Links to Two Excellent BlogTalk Radio Shows

Click for Rich Novek's show

Click for John Madden's Show with particular emphasis on Recovery from Addictions